Abner Doubleday
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Abner Doubleday (June 26, 1819 – January 26, 1893) was a career
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
officer and
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
in the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. He fired the first shot in defense of
Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battl ...
, the opening battle of the war, and had a pivotal role in the early fighting at the
Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...
. Gettysburg was his finest hour, but his relief by
Maj. Gen. Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
George G. Meade George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was a United States Army officer and civil engineer best known for decisively defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. H ...
caused lasting enmity between the two men. In San Francisco, after the war, he obtained a patent on the cable car railway that still runs there. In his final years in
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, he was a prominent member and later president of the
Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...
. In 1908, 15 years after his death, Doubleday was declared by the
Mills Commission Abraham Gilbert Mills (March 12, 1844 – August 26, 1929) was the fourth president of the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs ( 1883–1884), and is best known for heading the "Mills Commission" which controversially credited Civil W ...
to have invented the game of baseball (a claim never made by Doubleday during his lifetime). This claim has been thoroughly debunked by baseball historians.Kirsch, pp. xiii–xiv.


Early years

Doubleday, the son of Ulysses F. Doubleday and Hester Donnelly, was born in
Ballston Spa, New York Ballston Spa is a village and the county seat of Saratoga County, New York, United States, located southwest of Saratoga Springs. The population of the village, named after Rev. Eliphalet Ball, a Congregationalist clergyman and an early settler, wa ...
, in a small house on the corner of Washington and Fenwick streets. As a child, Abner was very short. The family all slept in the attic loft of the one-room house. His paternal grandfather, also named Abner, had fought in the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. His maternal grandfather Thomas Donnelly had joined the army at 14 and was a mounted messenger for
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
. His great grandfather Peter Donnelly was a Minuteman. His father, Ulysses F., fought in the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
, published newspapers and books, and represented
Auburn, New York Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, the ...
, for four years in the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
.Beckenbaugh, pp. 611–612. Abner spent his childhood in Auburn and later was sent to
Cooperstown Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...
to live with his uncle and attend a private preparatory high school. He practiced as a surveyor and civil engineer for two years before entering the
United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
Tagg, pp. 25–27. in 1838. He graduated in 1842, 24th in a class of 56 cadets, and was commissioned a
brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...
second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
in the 3rd U.S. Artillery.Eicher, p. 213. In 1852, he married Mary Hewitt of
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, the daughter of a local lawyer.Texas Handbook
/ref>


Early commands and Fort Sumter

Doubleday initially served in coastal garrisons and then in the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
from 1846 to 1848 and the
Seminole Wars The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Geography of Florida, Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native Americans in the United States, Native American nation whi ...
from 1856 to 1858. In 1858, he was transferred to
Fort Moultrie Fort Moultrie is a series of fortifications on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, built to protect the city of Charleston, South Carolina. The first fort, formerly named Fort Sullivan, built of palmetto logs, inspired the flag and n ...
in
Charleston Harbor The Charleston Harbor is an inlet (8 sq mi/20.7 km²) of the Atlantic Ocean at Charleston, South Carolina. The inlet is formed by the junction of Ashley and Cooper rivers at . Morris and Sullivan's Islands shelter the entrance. Charleston H ...
serving under Colonel John L. Gardner. By the start of the Civil War, he was a
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
and second in command in the garrison at
Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battl ...
, under
Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
Robert Anderson. He aimed the cannon that fired the first return shot in answer to the
Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
bombardment on April 12, 1861. He subsequently referred to himself as the "hero of Sumter" for this role.


Brigade and division command in Virginia

Doubleday was promoted to major on May 14, 1861, and commanded the Artillery Department in the
Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...
from June to August, and then the artillery for
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Nathaniel Banks Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union Army, Union general during the American Civil War, Civil War. A millworker by background, Banks was promine ...
's division of the
Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...
. He was appointed
brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
of volunteers on February 3, 1862, and was assigned to duty in northern Virginia while the Army of the Potomac conducted the Peninsula Campaign. His first combat assignment was to lead the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, III Corps of the
Army of Virginia The Army of Virginia was organized as a major unit of the Union Army and operated briefly and unsuccessfully in 1862 in the American Civil War. It should not be confused with its principal opponent, the Confederate Army of ''Northern'' Virginia ...
during the Northern Virginia Campaign. In the actions at Brawner's farm, just before the
Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...
, he took the initiative to send two of his regiments to reinforce Brigadier General
John Gibbon John Gibbon (April 20, 1827 – February 6, 1896) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Early life Gibbon was born in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the fourt ...
's brigade against a larger Confederate force, fighting it to a standstill. (Personal initiative was required since his division commander, Brig. Gen. Rufus King, was incapacitated by an
epileptic Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...
seizure at the time. He was replaced by Brigadier General John P. Hatch.) His men were routed when they encountered Major General
James Longstreet James Longstreet (January 8, 1821January 2, 1904) was one of the foremost Confederate generals of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse". He served under Lee as a corps ...
's corps, but by the following day, August 30, he took command of the division when Hatch was wounded, and he led his men to cover the retreat of the Union Army. Doubleday again led the division, now assigned to the
I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...
of the Army of the Potomac, after South Mountain, where Hatch was wounded again. At
Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...
, he led his men into the deadly fighting in the Cornfield and the West Woods, and one colonel described him as a "gallant officer ... remarkably cool and at the very front of battle." He was wounded when an artillery shell exploded near his horse, throwing him to the ground in a violent fall. He received a brevet promotion to
lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
in the
regular army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregulars, irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenary, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the ...
for his actions at Antietam and was promoted in March 1863 to
major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
of volunteers, to rank from November 29, 1862. At Fredericksburg in December 1862, his division mostly sat idle. During the winter, the I Corps was reorganized and Doubleday assumed command of the 3rd Division. At Chancellorsville in May 1863, the division was kept in reserve.


Gettysburg

At the start of the
Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...
, July 1, 1863, Doubleday's division was the second infantry division on the field to reinforce the cavalry division of Brigadier General
John Buford John Buford, Jr. (March 4, 1826 – December 16, 1863) was a United States Army cavalry officer. He fought for the Union as a brigadier general during the American Civil War. Buford is best known for having played a major role in the first day ...
. When his corps commander, Major General John F. Reynolds, was killed very early in the fighting, Doubleday found himself in command of the corps at 10:50 am. His men fought well in the morning, putting up a stout resistance, but as overwhelming Confederate forces massed against them, their line eventually broke and they retreated back through the town of Gettysburg to the relative safety of Cemetery Hill south of town. It was Doubleday's finest performance during the war, five hours leading 9,500 men against ten Confederate brigades that numbered more than 16,000. Seven of those brigades sustained casualties that ranged from 35 to 50 percent, indicating the ferocity of the Union defense. On Cemetery Hill, however, the I Corps could muster only a third of its men as effective for duty, and the corps was essentially destroyed as a combat force for the rest of the battle; it would be decommissioned in March 1864, its surviving units consolidated into other corps. On July 2, 1863, Army of the Potomac commander Maj. Gen.
George G. Meade George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was a United States Army officer and civil engineer best known for decisively defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. H ...
replaced Doubleday with Major General
John Newton John Newton (; – 21 December 1807) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery abolitionist. He had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade. He served as a sailor in the Royal Navy (after forc ...
, a more junior officer from another corps. The ostensible reason was a false report by
XI Corps 11 Corps, 11th Corps, Eleventh Corps, or XI Corps may refer to: * 11th Army Corps (France) * XI Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XI Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...
commander Major General Oliver O. Howard that Doubleday's corps broke first, causing the entire Union line to collapse, but Meade also had a long history of disdain for Doubleday's combat effectiveness, dating back to South Mountain. Doubleday was humiliated by this snub and held a lasting grudge against Meade, but he returned to division command and fought well for the remainder of the battle. He was wounded in the neck on the second day of Gettysburg and received a brevet promotion to colonel in the regular army for his service. He formally requested reinstatement as I Corps commander, but Meade refused, and Doubleday left Gettysburg on July 7 for Washington. Doubleday's staff nicknamed him "Forty-Eight Hours" as a compliment to recognize his tendency to avoid reckless or impulsive actions and his thoughtfulness and deliberateness in considering circumstances and possible responses.Barthel, p. 127 In recent years, biographers have turned the nickname into an insult, incorrectly claiming "Forty-Eight Hours" was coined to highlight Doubleday's supposed incompetence and slowness to act.


Washington

Doubleday assumed administrative duties in the defenses of Washington, D.C., where he was in charge of courts martial, which gave him legal experience that he used after the war. His only return to combat was directing a portion of the defenses against the attack by Confederate
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Jubal A. Early in the Valley Campaigns of 1864. Also while in Washington, Doubleday testified against George Meade at the
United States Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War was a United States congressional committee started on December 9, 1861, and was dismissed in May 1865. The committee investigated the progress of the war against the Confederacy. Meetings were held ...
, criticizing him harshly over his conduct of the Battle of Gettysburg. While in Washington, Doubleday remained a loyal
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
and staunch supporter of President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
. Doubleday rode with Lincoln on the train to Gettysburg for the
Gettysburg Address The Gettysburg Address is a speech that U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery, now known as Gettysburg National Cemetery, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on the ...
and Col. and Mrs. Doubleday attended events with Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln in Washington.


Postbellum career

After the Civil War, Doubleday mustered out of the volunteer service on August 24, 1865, reverted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and became the colonel of the 35th U.S. Infantry in September 1867. He was stationed in San Francisco from 1869 through 1871 and he took out a patent for the cable car railway that still runs there, receiving a charter for its operation, but signing away his rights when he was reassigned. In 1871, he commanded the 24th U.S. Infantry, an all African-American regiment with headquarters at Fort McKavett,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. He retired in 1873. In the 1870s, he was listed in the New York business directory as lawyer. Doubleday spent much of his time writing. He published two important works on the Civil War: ''Reminiscences of Forts Sumter and Moultrie'' (1876), and ''Chancellorsville and Gettysburg'' (1882), the latter being a volume of the series ''Campaigns of the Civil War''.


Theosophy

In the summer of 1878, Doubleday lived in
Mendham Township, New Jersey Mendham Township is a township in Morris County, in the central portion of northern New Jersey, United States, located more than due west of New York City. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 5,869, reflecting an ...
, and became a prominent member of the
Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...
. When two of the founders of that society,
Helena Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, uk, Олена Петрівна Блаватська, Olena Petrivna Blavatska (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian mystic and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 187 ...
and
Henry Steel Olcott Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (2 August 1832 – 17 February 1907) was an American military officer, journalist, lawyer, Freemason and the co-founder and first president of the Theosophical Society. Olcott was the first well-known American of Euro ...
, moved to India at the end of that year, he was constituted as the president of the American body.


Death

Doubleday died of heart disease in Mendham Township on January 26, 1893. Doubleday's body was laid in state in New York's City Hall and then was taken to Washington by train from Mendham, and was buried in
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
in
Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County is a County (United States), county in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the Washington, D.C., District of Co ...
. He was survived by his wife.


Baseball

Although Doubleday achieved minor fame as a competent combat general with experience in many important Civil War battles, he is more widely known as the supposed inventor of the game of baseball, in Elihu Phinney's cow pasture in Cooperstown, New York, in 1839. The
Mills Commission Abraham Gilbert Mills (March 12, 1844 – August 26, 1929) was the fourth president of the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs ( 1883–1884), and is best known for heading the "Mills Commission" which controversially credited Civil W ...
, chaired by
Abraham G. Mills Abraham Gilbert Mills (March 12, 1844 – August 26, 1929) was the fourth president of the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs (1883–1884), and is best known for heading the "Mills Commission" which controversially credited Civil Wa ...
, the fourth president of the
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
, was appointed in 1905 to determine the origin of baseball. The committee's final report, on December 30, 1907, stated, in part, that "the first scheme for playing baseball, according to the best evidence obtainable to date, was devised by Abner Doubleday at Cooperstown, New York, in 1839." It concluded by saying, "in the years to come, in the view of the hundreds of thousands of people who are devoted to baseball, and the millions who will be, Abner Doubleday's fame will rest evenly, if not quite as much, upon the fact that he was its inventor ... as upon his brilliant and distinguished career as an officer in the Federal Army." However, there is considerable evidence to dispute this claim. Baseball historian George B. Kirsch has described the results of the Mills Commission as a "myth". He wrote, "Robert Henderson, Harold Seymour, and other scholars have since debunked the Doubleday-Cooperstown myth, which nonetheless remains powerful in the American imagination because of the efforts of Major League Baseball and the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown." At his death, Doubleday left many letters and papers, none of which describe baseball or give any suggestion that he considered himself a prominent person in the evolution of the game, and his ''New York Times'' obituary did not mention the game at all. Chairman Mills himself, who had been a Civil War colleague of Doubleday and a member of the honor guard for Doubleday's body as it lay in state in New York City, never recalled hearing Doubleday describe his role as the inventor. Doubleday was a cadet at West Point in the year of the alleged invention and his family had moved away from Cooperstown the prior year. Furthermore, the primary testimony to the commission that connected baseball to Doubleday was that of Abner Graves, whose credibility is questionable; a few years later, he shot his wife to death and was committed to an institution for the criminally insane for the rest of his life.Kirsch, pp. xiii–xiv. Part of the confusion could stem from there being another man by the same name in Cooperstown in 1839. Despite the lack of solid evidence linking Doubleday to the origins of baseball, Cooperstown, New York, became the new home of what is today the
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
in 1937. There may have been some relationship to baseball as a national sport and Abner Doubleday. While the modern rules of baseball were formulated in New York during the 1840s, it was the scattering of New Yorkers exposed to these rules throughout the country, that spread not only baseball, but also the "New York Rules", thereby harmonizing the rules, and being a catalyst for its growth. Doubleday was a high-ranking officer, whose duties included seeing to provisions for the US Army fighting throughout the south and border states. For the morale of the men, he is said to have provisioned balls and bats for the men.


Namesakes and honors

There is a monument to Doubleday at Gettysburg erected by his men, admirers, and the state of New York. There is a obelisk monument at
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
where he is buried.
Doubleday Field Doubleday Field is a baseball stadium in Cooperstown, New York named for Abner Doubleday and located two village blocks from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The grounds have been used for baseball since 1920, on what was Elihu Ph ...
is a 9,791-seat baseball stadium named for Abner Doubleday, located in Cooperstown, New York, near the
Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
. It hosted the annual Hall of Fame Game, an
exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
between two major league teams that was played from 1940 until 2008. It has hosted the Hall of Fame Classic since 2009. The
Auburn Doubledays The Auburn Doubledays are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) that is located in Auburn, New York. From 1958 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) ...
are a
collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...
team based in Doubleday's hometown of
Auburn, New York Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, the ...
. Doubleday Field at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, where the Army Black Knights play at Johnson Stadium, is named in Doubleday's honor. The Abner Doubleday Little League and Babe Ruth Fields in Ballston Spa, New York, the town of his birth. The house of his birth still stands in the middle of town and there is a monument to him on Front Street. A sign at the Doubleday Hill Monument, erected in
Williamsport, Maryland Williamsport is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,868 at the 2000 census and 2,137 as of 2010. Geography Williamsport is located at (39.598496, −77.818464). According to the United States Census Bu ...
, to commemorate Doubleday's occupation of a hill there during the Civil War, claims he invented the game in 1835. Mendham Borough and Mendham Township, New Jersey has held a municipal holiday known as "Abner Doubleday Day" for numerous years in the General's honor and commissioned a plaque near the site of his home in the borough in 1998, even though the borough was known as Mendham Township back then. In 2004, the Abner Doubleday Society erected a monument to Doubleday in Iron Spring Park, Ballston Spa, near his birthplace.


In popular culture

In the movie ''
The Ridiculous 6 ''The Ridiculous 6'' is a 2015 American Western action comedy film directed by Frank Coraci and written by Tim Herlihy and Adam Sandler, and starring Sandler, Terry Crews, Jorge Garcia, Taylor Lautner, Rob Schneider, and Luke Wilson. As Happy ...
'', Doubleday is portrayed by
John Turturro John Michael Turturro (; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his contributions to the independent film movement. He has appeared in over sixty feature films and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers, ...
. The character organizes the first game of baseball between the six main characters and a group of Chinese immigrants, creating the rules as he goes, primarily to allow him to win. In the 23rd episode of the anime ''
Samurai Champloo is a 2004 Japanese historical adventure anime television series. The debut television production of studio Manglobe, the 26-episode series aired from May 2004 to March 2005. It was first partially broadcast on Fuji TV, then had a complete a ...
'', titled "Baseball Blues", Doubleday and Alexander Cartwright are featured as American naval officers who engage the main characters and local Japanese people into a baseball game, which the Americans lose. In the mini-series ''
North and South North and South may refer to: Literature * ''North and South'' (Gaskell novel), an 1854 novel by Elizabeth Gaskell * ''North and South'' (trilogy), a series of novels by John Jakes (1982–1987) ** ''North and South'' (Jakes novel), first novel ...
'', George Hazzard is seen watching a primitive form of baseball with a wounded Orry Main, while referring to the game being invented by Doubleday, a fellow West Point cadet.


See also

*
List of American Civil War generals (Union) Union generals __NOTOC__ The following lists show the names, substantive ranks, and brevet ranks (if applicable) of all general officers who served in the United States Army during the Civil War, in addition to a small selection of lower-ranke ...
*
William Webb Ellis William Webb Ellis (24 November 1806 – 24 January 1872) was an English Anglican clergyman who, by tradition, has been credited as the inventor of rugby football while a pupil at Rugby School. According to legend, Webb Ellis picked up the ba ...
, sometimes apocryphally credited with inventing
rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...


Notes


References

* * * * * Gomes, Michael.
Abner Doubleday and Theosophy in America: 1879–1884
. ''Sunrise'', April/May 1991. * * * * *
Doubleday, Abner
in ''The Handbook of Texas''.


Further reading

* * * * Silkenat, David. ''Raising the White Flag: How Surrender Defined the American Civil War''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2019. .


External links

* * *




Photo of Abner Doubleday and wife Mary
taken by
Mathew Brady Mathew B. Brady ( – January 15, 1896) was one of the earliest photographers in American history. Best known for his scenes of the American Civil War, Civil War, he studied under inventor Samuel Morse, who pioneered the daguerreotype technique ...
, owned by
University of Michigan Museum of Art The University of Michigan Museum of Art in Ann Arbor, Michigan with is one of the largest university art museums in the United States. Built as a war memorial in 1909 for the university's fallen alumni from the Civil War, Alumni Memorial Hall ori ...

Ulysses Freeman Doubleday
McLean County Museum of History The McLean County Museum of History is an AAM accreditedList of Accredited Museums institution located in Bloomington, Illinois. It is the principal asset of the McLean County Historical Society, an Illinois nonprofit organization, which was fou ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doubleday, Abner 1819 births 1893 deaths American military personnel of the Mexican–American War American people of English descent Burials at Arlington National Cemetery History of baseball People from Auburn, New York People from Ballston Spa, New York People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Union Army generals United States Military Academy alumni Writers from New York (state) New York (state) Republicans American Theosophists People from Mendham Township, New Jersey